Today was Day #3 and we created an incredible new invention. The Crap-o-Matic which helps you find crappy gifts for people you don't really like.

Check out the amazing Crap-o-Matic machine. You're going to love it.]]>Is Coke It?tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.21458672012-11-27T16:22:45-05:002013-01-27T05:12:01-05:00Adam Kleinberghttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/adam-kleinberg/
Should Coke try to be a magazine? Will it succeed? Is this a brilliant move or insanity?

This is a tactic that has been very successful for other brands. American Express OPEN Forum has become a very legitimate small business publication with terrific content from contributors like Guy Kawasaki and Gary Vaynerchuck.

AmEx's approach is a clear value exchange. The top of the page is 100 percent AmEx navigation and marketing. But the content is 100 percent great stuff you might actually want to read.

The fundamental strategy is sound. I had zero reason to visit Coke's corporate website yesterday. Coke Zero, you might say. Today, I might go there because someone shares an article on Facebook or I find it on Google or, maybe, I might even just go there to see what's new.

Clearly this strategy has been successful for AmEx.

Coke, however, is a bit more heavy-handed in its content marketing efforts. Some might say clever. Others might say oafish.

AmEx has a customer-centric approach to its content marketing efforts. Coke has a brand-centric approach. For example, the lead story today on coca-colacompany.com is about the 'Support my School' Project in India, a wonderful project that Coke is doing in India.

Yes, it's a very nice story, but will it get me, Mr. Consumer, to come back?

Other stories are blatantly self-serving like this one on the NYC Soda Ban claiming that New Yorkers are lining up against the City's ban on soda.

Are they really?

Overall, this is an amazing effort. There is some great content being created, but I can literally hear the compromises and justifications being made..

"How does this benefit the brand?"

"Why should we spend millions on this site and this content if it's not promoting Coke?"

"Can't you make the logo bigger?"

Overall, I applaud the effort from Coke and think it will be successful. But I'm not giving them a standing ovation yet.

When Coke gets that content marketing is about really about putting the customer first, then I'll really jump to my feet.]]>Right, Wrong and This Electiontag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.19602302012-10-12T11:02:07-04:002012-12-12T05:12:01-05:00Adam Kleinberghttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/adam-kleinberg/
We have a lot of issues we need to consider this election. Here is how I see them:

Are we better off than we were four years ago?

Hell yes, we are. I was standing in the middle of my office with tears on my face as I was laying off 25 percent of my staff and cutting everyone else down to a four-day work week four years ago. This year, my business has grown 35 percent. I'll take that.

Should rich people pay more taxes than regular people?

Yes, they should. I'm sorry, rich people. It sucks that this great society needs to take a bigger slice of your bigger slice in order to survive. But it's this great society that enables you to have such a big slice, so get over it. I was an economics major. This make-believe story of trickle down economics is bullshit. It was bullshit when Reagan invented it, it was bullshit when Bush Jr. inflated it and it's bullshit today.

Social security and Medicare?

The truth is neither of these candidates has a solution that solves the problem. Romney and Ryan want to chip away at it with a "let's be fiscally responsible" priority. Obama and Biden want to chip away at it with a "let's make sure your grandma doesn't have to eat cat food" priority. I think both are important, but I think the latter needs to come first.

The same perspective on priorities are why the president made Obamacare the first thing he did in his presidency -- because it matters that people have health care and that they don't have to lose everything because they get sick or not be able to get covered because they have a pre-exisiting condition. It matters.

Foreign policy?

Are you kidding me? Mitt is a new Cold War waiting to happen.

Gay marriage?

I believe it was the First Amendment that said our government would be beholden to no religion. I don't give a shit what your religion says. You say you want freedom? Don't tell me what I can and can't do.

Abortion rights?

Ditto.

Some of you will agree with me. Some of you won't. But if you're on the fence, I ask of you, please, think about these things.]]>Can America Survive Without Steve Jobs?tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2011:/theblog//3.9984802011-10-06T13:53:38-04:002011-12-06T05:12:02-05:00Adam Kleinberghttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/adam-kleinberg/
"Who's that, daddy?"

"A great man."

"Did you know him?"

"No."

"Why are you crying?"

Yesterday's passing of Steve Jobs hit many of us in an unexpectedly powerful and emotional way. It feels greater than the passing of a man. It feels like an end of an era.

Steve represented the best of America. The underdog who stood bravely in the face of seemingly insurmountable challenges and won. The consummate innovator. The rebel with a cause. The different thinker.

How could America be losing our edge when we have Apple?

As Steve leaves us, we are left to wonder if that American Dream will disappear with him.

If we let the papers determine our fate, it would be the obvious conclusion. The economy is gasping with no end in sight. Our schools are crap. Our government is inept. Our bankers are corrupt. We can't compete with the emerging powers in the world.

Maybe Steve's passing is a sign. Maybe we should just crawl into a hole and make giving up as painless as possible. Spend less. Risk less.

Bullshit.

Today, this morning, right fucking now, each and every one of us needs to stand up, look ourselves in the mirror and decide. Are we going to give up or are we going to be like Steve?

We the people need to take Steve's light as a beacon. We do have control over our destinies. When Apple fired Steve, it must have felt like the end of the world. He could have comforted himself with despondency. He could have pulled the plug.

But he didn't. He believed.

And because he believed, he followed his conviction to greatness. He's shown America the road back home.

As I sat in rain and traffic this morning, I listened to President Obama on the radio.

"I believe U.S. companies, U.S. workers, we can compete... I am absolutely confident that we can win... And a huge part of rebuilding this economy on a firm basis -- that's not just reliant on maxed-out credit cards... is dependent on us making things and selling things."

Make and sell products. How? Steve showed us exactly how. By thinking different, making better experiences and investing in quality.

So much of business is focused on cutting costs and avoiding risk. Avoiding risk does not create competitive advantage. Cutting costs does not create opportunity.

Should we allow the failure of a Solyndra to be an excuse for our government to stop investing in our future? To step off the path we need to be on? Is this how we'll survive?

I'm not taking that path. I'm following Steve. I'm going to think different. I choose to believe.]]>Why We Have a Burning Man Policytag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2011:/theblog//3.9471072011-09-02T16:09:49-04:002011-11-02T05:12:01-04:00Adam Kleinberghttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/adam-kleinberg/interactive agency here in San Francisco. On page 10 of our employee handbook, right in between the sections on "Voting Leave" and "Military Leave," is a little section called "The Burning Man Policy."

This policy states that Traction will prioritize requests for time off -- even if people have no vacation time left -- to attend events that inspire or enhance professional and/or creative development such as Burning Man or SxSW.

This is part of our contract between our company and our employees. Our lawyer made us change the word "guarantee" to "prioritize" because sometimes client work is client work. But it's written down in ink in our company HR manual because it's something we value -- and in the 10-plus years since we started this company, I don't think a single request for time off for Burning Man has ever been turned down.

Why?

Some think it's just because we like naked people. That's true. We do like naked people. But there's more to it than that.

Burning Man, SxSW and other events that inspire creativity, innovation and original thought... these occasions are rare opportunities to light the fire of creative energy that fuels this business.

That spark is what makes us special. It's what enables us to generate ideas. To think outside the 468x60 pixel box. To have a culture where people can embrace their own individuality and contribute it to a collaborative mechanism for the manifestation of creativity. To have a company that is ten years old where less than ten people have ever chosen to leave.

Have fun on the Playa.

Originally posted at https://www.tractionco.com/blog/160-why-we-have-a-burning-man-policy.]]>Four Billion Beams of Moonlighttag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2011:/theblog//3.8863892011-07-12T23:04:40-04:002011-09-11T05:12:02-04:00Adam Kleinberghttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/adam-kleinberg/"How do we differentiate this cloud computing collaboration solution from that cloud computing collaboration solution?"

"How do we describe this electronic device that does a hundred things so that in the mind of a potential consumer, it sounds like one thing?"

"How do we align this brand of cheddar cheese with the needs, wants and desires of our target audience?"

A great deal of research, thought and debate goes into answering these questions. It has to because a positioning statement is a potent tool in the marketer's toolbox. It has the power to turn commodities into sought after objects. It can turn dish soap into a magical liquid that softens hands while you wash the dishes. It can transform lemon-lime soda into the caffeine-free alternative to cola. A positioning statement can even show you the way to "think different."

So, I'm utterly fascinated by how Governor Jerry Brown has chosen to position the new California budget that was just passed.

How is it being positioned?

Well, the story on the radio is that Jerry closed ranks with Democrats to pass an on-time budget based on $4 billion in "unexpected" revenue.

Let's examine this positioning statement, shall we?

The brand: It ain't Apple and it ain't Nike, but Governor Jerry Brown and the Democrats are like the Josie and the Pussycats of fiscal responsibility. A week ago, when Jerry dropped a veto bomb on his party's Plan A, it wasn't so clear. Today, we know the brand.

The audience: Frustrated Californians who are embarrassed by the seemingly complete ineptitude and unwillingness to compromise of their legislature.

The product: We know exactly what we got. A balanced budget. Clorox sells bleach. Jerry and the Democrats sell balanced budgets. That means government still works, right?

The benefit: Not only is it a balanced budget, it's an on-time balanced budget. Your average Californian may not understand the complexities of political negotiation that take place in Sacramento, but we know we need to show up at work on time every Monday or we lose our job. These guys are delivering on time.

The believability: Wait a minute. We didn't have enough money to cover what we wanted to spend last week. What happened? Oh! Unexpected revenue. Well, lucky us. Whew.

How you like those beams of moonlight?

All the makings of a powerful positioning statement for an otherwise not-so-special product: who it's from; who it's for; what it is; why it matters; and how it works.

This was not the only way to go. It could have been slightly more transparent and less appealing:
Jerry closed ranks with Democrats to pass an on-time budget based on $4 billion in revenue that doesn't really exist.

Or a touch more poetic:
Jerry closed ranks with Democrats to put off until tomorrow what could have been done today -- horrific cuts to critical government services.

They could have narrowed their target audience to bubble-headed technology and media professionals in San Francisco and Silicon Valley who feel like the economy is improving dramatically even though the state unemployment rate for June was 11.7%.

Jerry closed ranks with Democrats to pass an on-time budget based on $4 billion in revenue from its IPO!!! (The exclamation points make it extra real.)

The focus could have been on one of the supporting messages from Brown, the circumstances that led to this miraculous balancing act:

Jerry closed ranks with Democrats to pass an on-time budget based on make-believe revenue because the Republicans have a complete unwillingness to accept any compromise where rich people have to pay taxes.

A bit wordy, perhaps. They also could have reshaped the brand.
Jerry and the Pussycrats cave to Republican obstinacy in time to avoid voter fury.

The spin room seems to have done a pretty good job for California lawmakers today. Not the tightest weave on the loom, but choosy moms don't choose an in-depth analysis of the foundational efficacy of proposed government spending programs. They choose Jif.
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